Bloomberg reported at 1.05 am that Britain, Norway, Germany, Norway (and it might have been France too) along with the US are working to get their citizens and diplomatic families out of Japan –Reuters Reuters Top News

And, important question and answers with military commander on NHK just now.

Either there is still smoke swirling out from the Reactor No.3 (kind of low and grey swirls in the middle of the video picture) right now or else that video is from some other time – but it looks current.

***

from IAEA – about the Fukushima Plant –

Injuries or Contamination at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant

Based on a press release from the Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary dated 16 March 2011, the IAEA can confirm the following information about human injuries or contamination at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Japanese Earthquake Update (16 March 22:00 UTC)

Spent fuel that has been removed from a nuclear reactor generates intense heat and is typically stored in a water-filled spent fuel pool to cool it and provide protection from its radioactivity. Water in a spent fuel pool is continuously cooled to remove heat produced by spent fuel assemblies. According to IAEA experts, a typical spent fuel pool temperature is kept below 25 ˚C under normal operating conditions. The temperature of a spent fuel pool is maintained by constant cooling, which requires a constant power source.

Given the intense heat and radiation that spent fuel assemblies can generate, spent fuel pools must be constantly checked for water level and temperature. If fuel is no longer covered by water or temperatures reach a boiling point, fuel can become exposed and create a risk of radioactive release. The concern about the spent fuel pools at Fukushima Daiichi is that sources of power to cool the pools may have been compromised.

The IAEA can confirm the following information regarding the temperatures of the spent nuclear fuel pools at Units 4, 5 and 6 at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant:

Unit 4

14 March, 10:08 UTC:

84 ˚C

15 March, 10:00 UTC:

84 ˚C

16 March, 05:00 UTC:

no data

Unit 5

14 March, 10:08 UTC:

59.7 ˚C

15 March, 10:00 UTC:

60.4 ˚C

16 March, 05:00 UTC:

62.7 ˚C

Unit 6

14 March, 10:08 UTC:

58.0 ˚C

15 March, 10:00 UTC:

58.5 ˚C

16 March, 05:00 UTC:

60.0 ˚C

The IAEA is continuing to seek further information about the water levels, temperature and condition of all spent fuel pool facilities at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

(Obviously doesn’t include Reactor No.s 1,2, and 3 which have had significant problems and it is Reactor No.4 where there was a fire yesterday on its fourth floor – the spent fuel rods appear to be kept in the containment building on the fourth floor according to diagrams on the official briefings at HNK.)

Also says –

RANET is a network of resources made available by IAEA Member States that can be offered in the event of a radiation incident or emergency. Coordination of RANET is done by the IAEA within the framework of the Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency.

There were four helicopter dumps of water and doggone if the news everywhere including the BBC America this morning continues to repeat the story as if there were 200 flights dumping water on the durn thing. How annoying.

And, they’ve reported that no one has been injured from the radiation and that just isn’t true. Of the several members of the public which were earlier taken to the hospital after over 160 people were checked for radiation (from the public near the plant) – there has been no report of what happened to those people or if they are okay. I don’t think they are in the report of injuries made by the IAEA above from the Japanese officials.

– cricketdiane

I kept looking for real-time images of the surface temperatures in the area of the Fukushima Daiichi plant – but found all kinds of other nifty stuff instead. And, if anyone in the world wanted to see the US – it would be easy. The rapidfire system which shows wildfires and other natural disasters of smoke, fire and something else – anyway – it’s satellite images are great but they are centered on Osaka – and the southern half of Japan. I don’t know why the northern part of Japan has no satellite images available through that.

Extraordinarily frustrating actually. And, I did find surface temperatures for the ocean except it only showed through March 9, 2011 – very annoying.

At the bottom of the list are these entries which are interesting now –

04.06 Survey of foreign substances in the spent fuel pool Unit four

04.09 Survey results confirmed the contamination by radioactive materials in the walls and floor of the building waste treatment No.4

4.19 Interim Report of the seismic safety evaluation and [something] Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (revised) for submission to the Nuclear and Industrial Safety agency Ministry of Economy and partially revised and modified version

4.19 For discovery and recovery of foreign bodies in the Unit 2 spent fuel pool

4.20 Findings on the problems of water control equipment at Unit 2 of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in operation

04.21 Screws and washers for the loss of clamping device in the lid of the reactor pressure vessel during the periodic inspection of Unit 1

(and these two also – )

04.27 For reporting to the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency Ministry of Economy and efforts to reflect the continued collection and evaluation of scientific and technical knowledge pertaining to new seismic safety of nuclear facilities

(and)

04.28 Findings on the detection of trace amounts of radioactive material in the turbine building vent stack of four Unit

(also this one – )

05.21 During storage of fuel pool Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Unit 3. The results confirm the soundness of the MOX fuel.

(above from the TEPCO reports linked above the list – there’s more of course)

*** my note ***

Earlier there was a mention on CNN – about the fact that Reactor Unit No.3 has plutonium in it as well – (1.32 amEDT) – CNN weather guy I think it was when he was explaining the damage that has occurred in each of the reactors.

So maybe its time to start demanding answers for the hard questions from them – they are the ones who should know better on a lot of these things.
(my note)

***

Why were the backup generators where they could get damaged from water? Were they indeed “in the basement” or in another vulnerable place? Why is it that the backup batteries were only available for such a short period of time?

Is that how all these nuclear reactor plants are where it concerns the back up systems for them? Do none of them have a secondary cooling system in case something happens to the first one?

Is there some reason that there aren’t robotic types of fire fighting equipment in every area of these plants? Why would that be?

Yes, I have a lot of good questions that need answers and they need solutions to them worse than that for every single nuclear power plant that exists old or new everywhere in the world. And, that would include the United States especially since our plants average older than the ones in the rest of the world which means we probably have some in need of better backup systems despite the nuclear power company representatives assuring us all that it was all fixed after the 9/11 threats were considered. What year is it now? Wasn’t that ten years ago?

The IAEA Uranium Production Site Appraisal Team (UPSAT) programme is designed to assist Member States to improve the operational and safety performance of uranium production facilities through all phases of the uranium production cycle.

Thank you very much, everybody, for joining us this evening. As a result of the tragic earthquake and tsunami that struck northeastern Japan on March 11, the nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant were badly damaged and pose a serious hazard in the vicinity of the plant and a potential health hazard to a broader region … More »

The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo informs U.S. citizens in Japan who wish to depart that the Department of State is making arrangements to provide transportation to safehaven locations in Asia. Citizens who travel on U.S. government-arranged transport will be expected to make their own onward travel plans from the safehaven location. More »

The U.S. Department of State warns U.S citizens of the deteriorating situation at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) recommends that U.S. citizens who live within 50 miles (80 km) of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant evacuate the area or take shelter indoors if safe evacuation is not practical. More »

Japan’s Earthquake and TsunamisSecretary Clinton (Mar. 15, 2011): ” I want to, on behalf of the United States, express both our condolence and our solidarity with the government and people of Japan. Japan is always a very generous donor to any disaster anywhere in the world, and today, the world comes together to support Japan in its hour of need. ” Full Text»Contact and Travel Information»Contact and Travel Information»

I keep thinking about the nuclear reactors that are in trouble. I keep thinking – an equal and opposite reaction. When the neutrons are stirred up and giving off heat – you either, a.) slow them down by cooling such as the water does; b.) encase them such as the methods used when spent fuel rods are sealed up with lead, concrete or some other encasing method; c.) neutralize them by focusing on the radioactive nature and excited neutrons rather than the heat being given off as a result – possibly the point of the boric acid or boron salts used; or d.)harness it – so how could it be intentionally harnessed and its direct energy harvested without allowing a build up?

What were those radio frequency experiments being done with radioactive decay? What and where was that? Did that allow a slowing down of the activity resulting a slowing (and cooling) of the material at certain focused frequencies? supercooled freon, argon, zenon, halogen, – not halogen, nitrogen, – carbon nano particles like sand around the fuel rods encased in water – no that won’t work. it won’t disperse the heat into the water and absorb it from the carbon spaces. But it could yield a buffer zone to prevent meltdown? Hmmm…… Just thinking.

How were the intentional releases of neutrons being harnessed for use in the little table top fusion generator? They were being used some way – what was it and how did they harness them once the energy was being sent off in every direction?

Pure water normally freezes at 273.15 K (0 °C or 32 °F) but it can also be “supercooled” at standard pressure down to its crystal homogeneous nucleation at almost 231 K (−42 °C/−43.6 °F).[2] If, however, it is cooled at a rate on the order of 106 K/s, the crystal nucleation can be avoided and water becomes a glass. Its glass transition temperature is much colder and harder to determine, but studies estimate it at about 165 K (−108 °C/−162.4 °F).[3]Glassy water can be heated up to approximately 150 K (−123 °C/−189.4 °F).[2] In the range of temperatures between 231 K (−42 °C/−43.6 °F) and 150 K (−123 °C/−189.4 °F) experiments find only crystal ice.

Droplets of supercooled water often exist in stratiform and cumulusclouds. Aircraft flying through these clouds seed an abrupt crystallization of these droplets, which can result in the formation of ice on the aircraft’s wings or blockage of its instruments and probes, unless the aircraft are equipped with an appropriate de-icing system. Freezing rain is also caused by supercooled droplets.

Gamma rays have frequencies above 10 exahertz (1019 Hz), and therefore have energies above 100 keV and wavelength less than 10 picometers, often smaller than an atom. Gamma rays from radioactive decay commonly have energies of a few hundred keV, and almost always less than 10 MeV. Energies from astronomical sources can be much higher, ranging over 10 TeV (this is far too large to result from radioactive decay).[1] There is effectively no lower limit to gamma energy (though they are sometimes classed as X-rays if their frequencies are lower than 1019 Hz). Because gamma rays are a form of ionizing radiation, they pose a health hazard.

The two types of radiation are now usually distinguished by their origin: X-rays are emitted by electrons outside the nucleus, while gamma rays are emitted by the nucleus.[3][5][6][7]

slowing it down is only one way to do it – collecting the options of other ways to do that – hmmm……… what is available today that was not available or not known when the nuclear facilities were built to boil water – more direct resonance and interactions with the actual physics that are occuring?

… frequency than gamma rays. C) gamma rays have higher frequency than infrared waves …Carbon nanoparticles and nanotubes are used in sporting goods because they: … A) absorbing and dissipating the harmful ultraviolet radiation… C) would spiral, if not constantly excited, into the nucleus of the atom …http://www.ceet.niu.edu/cecourse/MIDTERM%20I.htm

But, that would be going the other way around on it looking for the possibility and potential of stopping the radioactive decay, ionization, excitement and slowing the process down or successfully interacting with it in order to neutralize and / or contain it –

File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat
materials with ionizing radiation (gamma rays, X rays, …. in hydrogels, carbon fiber composites, heterogeneous mixtures based on material by- …… The particles are completely stopped in these experiments because of … involve contributions by excited states, electrons, and holes, making it difficult to …www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/TE_1420_Web.pdf

***

Just thinking – have nothing better to do – need solutions and options for the nuclear reactors in Japan to be secured and made safe immediately – what could do it?

I popped over to this bit of an abstract – this is intended to identify a target substance but the same science could be used to harness the power of the fuel rods temporarily and exchange them for electron energy – a conversion mechanism. Not practical though and the immediacy of the design is not available on that scale. The same thing could be used though for direct conversion of the by-products from the fuel rods to be used instead of heating water and making steam with them . . .

Just a thought.

The different nanoparticles used convert differing radiation species into electrons through independent physical mechanisms, including charge conversion (alpha), secondary electron (beta), photoelectron (gamma/X-rays), and an on-chip thermonuclear fusion reaction (neutron) to evaluate the specific isotope radiation signature. The four different detectors use four different methods to convert four different types of radiation into electrons; as a consequence, the measured pulses are characteristic to the radiation, allowing pulse height spectroscopy to be used.

Higher order modes of the CESR-B superconducting RF cavities must have low R/Q and low Q values to avoid single and multibunch instabilities. Large beam pipes with internal ferrite absorbers have been proposed for this purpose.

Different types of ferrites are considered for
application in HOM absorbers. Therefore two types of
absorbers were made and measured. In one of them, as
it has been mentioned, the Ferrite-50 was used. In
another one the m-111 ferrite was tried. Since the
number of ‘IT2-111 tiles available was not sufficient
for filling two absorbers completely. only
measurements with partially filled absorb ers have been
made.

Approximately 3,000 residents living near Tokyo Electric Power’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (located 170 miles or 270 kilometers northeast of Tokyo) have been ordered to evacuate the area as a precautionary measure. For those evacuated and others living nearby, the current emergency is not the first: the Fukushima Daiichi plant has a somewhat shaky history not always connected with earthquakes.

The earthquake resistant building materials used ahead of time were right.

The earthquake resistant building processes that were put into place were right.

The protective measures to prevent tsunamis from inundating city centers were right – even though the tsunami did get around some of those defenses.

The early warning systems were right.

When I saw on Japanese news tv last night, a grocery store who brought their groceries out on the sidewalk for people to buy, I knew that was also right. During disasters in the US, our stores don’t do that. They shutter and lock up the place.

The handing out of water and care packages to citizens in Japan that were already prepared ahead of time was right and the speed with which it was put into action was right.

The speed of bringing all the emergency disaster relief programs and actions into place was right.

The requests to international agencies and accepting outside help to come has also been timely, efficient and right.

– cricketdiane

***

My suggestion, if people want to donate money or to help – find the rescue teams going and donate to them or to the International Red Cross.

***

Japan is used to earthquakes and has instituted strict building codes and carries out frequent earthquake and tsunami drills. But the sheer intensity of Friday’s disaster was such that even the best preparation could only mitigate the tragedy.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has also set up a Family Links website to help people trying to re-establish contact with missing family members and friends. The ICRC says the worst hit areas are in the prefectures of Miyagi, Fukushima, Tochigi and Ibaraki.

Other reports said 9,500 people were unaccounted for in the coastal town of Minamisanriku in Miyagi Prefecture. Kyodo said that represents more than half of the community’s population.

One of the few buildings not destroyed in Minamisanriku was the hospital, but seawater had reached the fourth of its five floors. On Saturday afternoon, there were around 300 patients stranded there waiting to be rescued, according to Japanese broadcaster NHK.

At least 200 bodies had washed ashore elsewhere in the northeast.

(etc.)

***

Japan struggles with nuclear reactors in wake of quake

Tokyo (CNN) — Crews at a nuclear plant struck by an earthquake, then a tsunami and then an explosion in the span of 36 hours resorted Saturday to flooding a feverish nuclear reactor with sea water in hopes of preventing a meltdown of its core.

An explosion that sent white smoke rising above the Fukushima Daiichi plant Saturday afternoon buckled the walls of a concrete building that surrounded one of the plant’s nuclear reactors, but did not damage the reactor itself, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told reporters.

(etc.)

This article goes on to note that

While Cabinet Secretary Edano said later in the day that radiation levels appeared to be falling, the government nevertheless ordered an evacuation of residents within a 20-kilometer radius of the Daiichi plant, as well as a second facility where the cooling system had failed — the Fukushima Daini plant.

An estimated 170,000 people have been evacuated, though the process was ongoing, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Saturday.

Japanese authorities have classified the event at Fukushima Daiichi Unit 1 as a level 4 “accident with local consequences” on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale intended to communicate to the public the significance of radiation-linked events. The scale runs from 0 to 7, with the latter being classified as a major accident.

The China Syndrome is a hypothetical idea of an extreme result of nuclear meltdown in which molten reactor core products breach the barriers below them and flow downwards through the floor of the containment building.(etc.)

The large size of nuclear power plants ordered during the late 1960s raised new safety questions and created fears of a severe reactor accident that would send large quantities of radiation into the environment. In the early 1970s, a contentious controversy over the performance of emergency core cooling systems in nuclear power plants, designed to prevent a core meltdown that could lead to the China Syndrome, was discussed in the popular media and in technical journals.

In 1971 (the same year that the Fukushima reactor complex was commissioned, my note), nuclear physicist Ralph Lapp used the term “China Syndrome” to describe the burn-through of the reactor vessel, the penetration of the concrete below it, and the emergence of a mass of hot fuel into the soil below the reactor.

However (my note) – the meltdown into the soil and earth’s core as was originally suggested by the China Syndrome hypothesis was not the real issue of danger magnified by the potential for fuel rod assemblies to overheat and melt into one another. The outward dispersal of nuclear radiated materials into the immediate environment affecting large populations and carried by surface and high-altitude wind currents to even larger populations and environments turned out to be the greater problem. This was evidenced in the disaster at Chernobyl where a meltdown occurred, resulting explosions sent radiated materials skywards and outwards from the facility and high-altitude wind currents are known to have dispersed those materials over great masses of land, agriculture, animal herds used as food sources, populations and other environmental features, such as streams, lakes and rivers from which drinking water and irrigation water for farming are derived.

That is the real “China Syndrome” that occurs and is in danger of occurring now in Japan from the nuclear materials which have become unstable, overheated and may have already entered the “meltdown” phase. The explosion which occurred indicates the instability of the materials, the fact that aerial dispersal of a certain level of contaminants have occurred already and the danger which is present right now in the overall containment system.

The question is whether it will go to the next stage or be stopped. There are reports that seawater has been sprayed into the facility where the explosion occurred which would help to cool it to some extent. But the problems are actually an internal one. Where the fuel rod assembly sits, as the radioactive rods overheat, their proximity to one another allows a greater distribution of heat than the containment console was intended to handle. One report last night, said that the fuel assembly can reach temperatures in excess of 5,000 degrees. What the expert speaking did not say is how quickly once the process is started that it can magnify and develop heat levels exponentially feeding from itself. The electrons literally heat up and become “excited” with levels of atomic activity far in excess of anything the nuclear equipment in the plants were designed to accommodate. Neutron activity being given off and bounding around between the fuel rods would surely exacerbate the increase in heat, energy and overall activity in the pile. It has to go somewhere and without any realistic way to cool it down or stop the reaction . . .

– cricketdiane

I’ve always wondered if during the time of a potential nuclear meltdown of reactor fuel rods, if liquid nitrogen could be used to cool the entire mass quickly or if that would be reactive with the fuel itself. I don’t know. There are liquid propellants which are super cooled by their very nature. What would it take to use those on the reactors in Japan which are in danger right now before it gets any worse? During Chernobyl and even Three Mile Island, the difference was in the failure of officials in having world resources to quickly come to bear on those situations which made them worse than they had to become. We don’t have to do it that way this time and one of my notes about the most impressive things happening right now is the international interaction working to resolve the nuclear meltdown potential rather than to hide it until the danger is unmanageable as some past events around the world have been handled.

***

Using the sea water to cool the reactor assembly was brilliant. On one of the news outlets online there was a picture of the boats sending long arcs of water into the plant where the explosion occurred. It may have bought some time. Each of the nuclear plant complexes have several reactors and the water may not be reaching the others in the complex since their roofs and walls are still intact. There comes a point where no human being will be able to be anywhere near these plants. That means the options for restoring the cooling system won’t exist past that.

another note about the other coverage of the devastation from the earthquake and tsunami in Japan –

I hope the Red Cross and other organizations are bringing generators and heaters. The temperatures are cold and expected to get even colder. Warm winter clothing will be needed, warm hearty foods of some kind, warmth, blankets and probably, shoes.

There is another organization besides the International Red Cross which gets the job done in situations of disaster and crisis – that is Oxfam which is an international confederation of fourteen organizations serving in an interactive and inter-relational way. The past events around the world for many years have shown that they get the resources from the donations to real things that provide shelter, food, semi-permanent substantial housing for disaster victims, things for the communities to rebuild their community and economic foundations, etc. More info about them can be found here –

The other note I would make about that is about donating to the International Red Cross for an event of this kind rather than to expect contributions given to the national red cross chapters to find their way as donations going for the Japanese people immediately.

Oxfam International donations page – you can select by country or by project

***

Also – there are Urban Search and Rescue Teams going to Japan to help recovery efforts from nations around the world including the United States – those have been highlighted on some of the news broadcasts, can be found online or through the UN disaster relief and disaster aid lists of organizations involved – those would be a great place to donate time or money. Particularly since these urban rescue teams are underway right now to help – they will need money to support their efforts and possibly the donations of time through volunteers as back support – supplies have to be loaded and prepared, information relay has to happen and a host of other things which might need volunteer efforts.

Last night, I noticed a twitter from someone who mentioned how many emails he had already received asking for donations to help Japan. Maybe those emails are legitimate, maybe not. I do know that the above three organizations of people are actually getting the job done over and over again during past events. They came in with good solutions, enacted them, helped the communities get on their feet and protected life and safety in the process in an intelligent manner. They made good use of their resources, reached beyond the “norm” to find new solutions and new technology where it was available in the world and put it into place as part of the efforts, and they were reasonable about the overhead spent to get it done. That makes sense. I don’t know if any of the other non-governmental and charitable organizations have done that very well aside from the Catholic Charities International organization.

Many calls for money are made after an event and people want to help, but if the money does nothing beyond serving administration of the advertised efforts, then I don’t see what good it is. Personally, I’m not giving money to an organization to support the CEO and CFO in some lavish lifestyle with an enhanced income for them while people’s needs around the world are served in some half-assed pathetic manner. That is not what I want my money to do when I sacrifice my own needs and offer it to those around the world who are in some greater disaster than I am facing.

The AFP agency reported that a blast was heard and white smoke seen billowing into the air at one of two power plants which the Japanese government had placed under a state of emergency. Several workers were reported to have been injured.

Prime minister Naoto Kan had warned that a radiation leak might occur at one of the reactors at the Daiichi facility at Fukushima, 150 miles north of Tokyo, after Friday’s 8.9-magnitude quake.

(etc.)

***

08:16 Japanese government officials say there was shaking at the Fukushima nuclear plant in the area devastated by a massive earthquake.

The walls and roof of the plant appear to have been destroyed in the blast:

Also has video which includes the massive tsunami waves as they headed in from the ocean – shows the across the ocean before they came into shore

And this note –

FCO Helpline 020 7008 0000 (UK), +(81)352111100 (Tokyo)

***

CNN weather guy just said there have been 180 aftershocks now as of 4.21 am ET – there is cold in Sendai with some snow still on the ground – in a couple days temperatures will drop further

Other interesting information from the news today –

The tsunami in Japan pushed 6 miles inland. In some areas it was over 30 foot wall of water moving at a speed of 500 miles per hour.

There were four trains unaccounted for at one point and at least one had 81 passengers. A passenger ship with 100 passengers was reported to have been swept out to sea and there has been no word on it yet, unless it simply hasn’t been noticed.

Some reports said that the earthquake lasted six minutes – and there have been 180 aftershocks – there were also earthquakes including a 7.1 earthquake in Japan in the two days prior to the 8.9 earthquake at 2.46 pm Japan time Friday (yesterday).

Some passengers may have been rescued from one of the trains – the pictures shown just now at 4.33 am ET looked like it had one of the trains wrecked laying on its side.

There are two nuclear plants damaged both of which have more than one reactor in them – several reactors in each, in fact. One of those nuclear plants has had an explosion and radioactive cesium in a small release had been noted before the explosion occurred a little while ago. The roof and walls collapsed and four workers were injured.

The International Red Cross is bringing 20,000 tents and other supplies and at least one Urban and Rescue team from the US is on the way along with relief efforts and rescue teams from other nations that are on the way to Japan now.

There are 450 volcanoes along the “ring of fire” – some of which have been very active within the last ten days – (can be found on the USGS site in the area about recent volcanic activity).

During the day of the Japan earthquake and today – there have been only five other earthquakes of magnitude 5.0 (or above) aside from the ones near Honshu, Japan. One of those was in Indonesia in the last little while and one in Fiji. The other three have been in the deep Pacific at the Southern East Pacific Rise and two in the deep Pacific at Tonga.

my note – cricketdiane

***

A senior Analyst from the International Crisis Group, Daniel Pinkston on CNN right now says that the nuclear plant Daiichi and its explosion a little bit ago is the “worst case scenario.”

That’s about right. There is no way to contain it at a point and with the smoke pouring out of it right now seems pretty obvious to suggest it is at that point. I don’t think 10 km is far enough away from it. The Chernobyl disaster was 25 years ago on April 22, I think it was. The IAEA was just about to have a celebration of the last twenty-five years of greater safety as a result of what was learned. And, now – it is going to take everything they’ve learned to get this nuclear plant area secured. Containment may not be an option at this point.

What can they do – drop water on it? That won’t work either. They need to get people a lot farther out of the way of it now. 10 km is not enough.

***

When there were reports that the radiation in the control room had been measured at 1000 times normal – that was the indication that a critical event was underway. Why didn’t they bring a generator out to them from the base at Okinawa or from another place on the island with some petrol to run it. That would’ve taken about 3 hours and instead they used fifteen to not get the problem solved effectively. And they have had the IAEA involved, their National Nuclear Agency, specialists and US experts in nuclear plants, industry specialists that built the plant – and why the hell could they let this be like this?

Damn.

Damn.

Damn.

Those four workers that were injured will likely die. It isn’t fair.

I don’t think that I was nearly as pissed off about this until watching some Georgia “expert” from one of our Universities earlier in the evening today on CNN saying that radiation isn’t really all that bad – it just has a bad reputation with the public.

But, how does that help? Every third grader, every adult and every member of the audience knew he was talking in bad faith – or to put it another way – lying his ass off. And, not rightly so either. It does not one favor to the public to say a thing is not a health risk when it is. People have reasons to be concerned. The damage in Japan is already massive. This is the last thing needed under the worst circumstances. But the smartest people telling us that radiation doesn’t pose any real risk? What kind of nonsense was that? How dare any “expert” act that way anymore – surely we learned in the worst way possible during Chernobyl and Three Mile Island what that misinformation cost people.

It is not okay for experts and authorities to downplay the risks and to say something is no big deal when it is a big deal. The Calif and Oregon deaths in the US from the tsunami that washed these people off the shore where they were taking pictures wouldn’t have happened if the dangers had not been “downplayed” by some media outlets. It is wrong.

I’ve so got to get that man’s name from whichever university in Georgia that was on CNN earlier and get the exact quote of what he said – it was such a winner for the bad character of the year award for its inane inaccuracy and absolute lie – that I’m going to have to find it and post it here. And, now the damn nuclear plant has blown the roof and walls off – with smoke billowing out of it – at a NUCLEAR plant. That isn’t something that stays where it is.

And, a little bit ago – CNN weather guy says the winds will carry that release out over the ocean so it will be okay – No it doesn’t necessarily, but even if it does – our ships with our soldiers are going to be out there where the winds will carry it because they are on the way to go help.

And, they aren’t the only ones.

CNN said the Japanese government just increased the area of evacuation around the nuclear plant at Fukushima to 20km.

That is some better. But this should’ve never gotten to this point – it was literally over ten hours ago when they knew there were high readings of radiation in that control room. Believe it – that was not “normal” and meant there was a critical event which required a three hour “get it done” timetable – not fifteen hours.

They could’ve flown in generators. This is ridiculous.

Okay – I’m letting it go now. No I’m not. But, I’m going to bed and forget about it awhile.

Manmade disasters on top of natural disasters just piss me off. There is just no sense in it.